“Mike Johnson will defend a president who wants to unlawfully nationalize elections but won’t authorize a civil rights legend to lie in honor,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has reportedly denied a request for civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson to lie in honor at the United States Capitol, days after the legendary leader died in Chicago at the age of 84.
Jackson died Tuesday after years of significant health challenges, including a rare neurological disorder that affected his ability to move and speak. The request for the Capitol honor came from Jackson’s family, according to a source who spoke to The Hill.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has not publicly commented on the decision. The source told The Hill that the Speaker considered past precedent in making his determination.
The honor of lying in state or lying in honor at the Capitol is typically reserved for former presidents and high-ranking government officials. However, notable exceptions have been made for prominent American figures outside of government.
Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks lay in honor in the Capitol rotunda in 2005, becoming the first woman and second African American to receive the distinction. Evangelical leader Rev. Billy Graham was honored in the rotunda in 2018. Most recently, former President Jimmy Carter lay in state at the Capitol following his death last year.
Johnson has reportedly denied similar requests in recent months, including proposals for Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and former Vice President Dick Cheney to lie in honor at the Capitol.
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